Art of multicolor-printing.



UNrrnD STATES Patented November 24, 1903.

PATENT OFricE.

PAUL GEORGE FRAUENFELDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN LITHOGRAPHIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ART OF MULTlCOLOR-PRINTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,174, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed February 5, 1901. Serial No. 46,123. (No specimens.)

If? all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PAUL GEORGE FRAU- ENFELDLR, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, and aresid'ent of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Multicolor-Printing, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of multicolor-printing, and more particularly to that art as practiced in connection with multicolor lithographic presses wherein the various colors of a multicolor picture or design are applied to paper or similar material in such rapid" succession that the ink does not become dry between the impressions.

There the colors are allowed to dry between the impressions, it is the common practice in the art to print several of the lighter or weaker or less definitive of the colors or tints used in producing a picture or design before the darker or stronger or more defini tive color or colors are printed.

In multicolor-presses where it has been attempted to print a series of colors without permitting the ink to dry between impressions much difficulty has been experienced. This is chiefly due to the fact that a portion of the paper which has become more or less saturated with ink by the application of one or more of the colors of a design will not receive more ink while the ink previously applied is still moist as readily as a portion of the paper which has not received a charge of ink or on which previously-applied ink has become dry. This frequently causes an imperfection in the impression of a succeeding color wherever it overlies a preceding color or colors and results in a false orimperfect coloring or finish of the completed picture or design. I have discovered that this difficulty can be practically overcome by varying the order in which the colors are applied to the paper. Thus I have found that by first applying to the paper the darkest or strongest colorafull strong impression of that color is obtained and is strengthened rather than weakened by the superposition of the other colors and that the imperfections, if any, in the impressions of the lighter colors and tints do not appear in the finished picture or are such as not to be noticeable.

It is not essential that the darkest color of a set of colors shall be under all circumstances the one printed first in point of time. Thus it obviously would be within myinvention to print one or more of the lighter tints or colors before the darkest or principal color is printed, so long as the portion of the paper which is to receive the latter is not so saturated with ink in a moist or fresh state as to prevent a good impression of the former.

The particular shade of the darkest color referred to is immaterial. It may be black, or brown, or dark gray, or dark blue, or any other suitable color or shade. The essential feature of the invention is that of. the various colors used in printing a picture the color which is most relied upon to give detail or depth of shadow and life or brilliancy to the design be applied to the paper while the portions of the latter which are to receive that color are in anunsaturated condition. The lighter colors or tints may be applied in any desired order. The rapidity with which the colors are applied is also immaterial, so long as there is not enough time allowed between impressions to permit the ink which has been applied to the paper to become substantially dry.

My invention is not limited to the use of any particular set of colors or tints, nor to any particular number of colors or tints, nor to any particular order in whichthe minor colors are printed, as these may be varied be tween wide limits without departing from the main principle of my invention or sacrificing the chief advantages thereof.

While multicolor lithographic presses only have been specifically mentioned in connection with the practice of the invention, it is apparent from the nature of the invention that it is applicable with beneficial if not equally as good results to the case of relief and intaglio printing as practiced in connec tion with paper and ink similar to those used in lithographic printing.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The improvement In the art of printing a set of the colors of a multicolor picture or design upon paper or similar material, which art consists in applying to the paper the darkest or most definitive of the colors while the portions of the paper which receive that color are in an unsaturated condition, then applying other colors while the previous impression is in a moist condition.

2. The improvement in the art of printing a set of the colors of a multicolor picture or design upon paper or similar material, which art consists in first applying to the paper the darkest color of the series of colors used, and then applying the other colors in any desired order while the first impression is in a moist condition.

The improvement in the art of. multicolor-printing, which consists in applying to the paper the darkest or most definitive of the colors used in producing a picture or design while the portions of the paper which receive that color are in an unsaturated condition, and then applying other colors while the previous impression is in a moist condition.

4:. The improvement in the art of multicolor-printing, which consists in first applying to the paper the darkest of the colors used in producing a picture or design, and then applying the other colors in any desired order While the first impression is in a moist condition.

5. The improvement in the art of multicolor planographic printing, which consists in applying to the paper the darkest or most definitive of the colors used in producinga picture or design while the portions of the paper which receive that color are in an unsaturated condition, and then applying other colors while the previous impression is in a moist condition.

0. The improvement in the art of multicolor planographic printing, which consists in first applying to the paper the darkest color used in producing a picture or design, and then applying the other colors in any desired order while the first impression is in a moist condition.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

PAUL GEORGE FRAUENFELDER.

\Vitnesses GEO. G. MURRAY, Gno. II. BARNES. 

